US online grocery start-up 'neck and neck' with Amazon

Sobeys to ‘aggressively ’ cut costs

Whole Foods CEO recommends to eat non-organic potatoesSpeaking Wednesday at the Fortune Brainstorm health conference in San Diego, organic retailer Whole Foods' CEO Mackey attributed the Western obesity epidemic to a “tremendous amount of misinformation” about what constitutes a healthy diet. “Organic potato chips aren’t healthy,” Mackey said. “You’re better off eating a non-organic, regular potato than a highly processed food.” (qz.com) Online grocery start-up 'neck and neck' with AmazonShipt, a grocery delivery start-up, is expanding its partnership with Costco and plans to double its overall market size this year. Shipt announced Thursday it will add nine Florida markets — six markets with Costco home delivery and three with regional grocer Publix. CNBC reached out to both retailers for comment. At the same time, a new report released Wednesday by Wells Fargo reveals most consumers still are "reluctant to shift food purchases online." (cnbc.com)

CA: Sobeys reveals ‘aggressive’ plan to cut costs Michael Medline said on Thursday the company is launching “Project Sunrise” to simplify the business and generate $500-million in annual savings by 2020, allowing it to reinvest in its business to improve its sales and the bottom line. (theglobeandmail.com)

US: Marsh to focus on groceries to cut costsIndiana-based grocery chain Marsh Supermarkets said all of its in-store pharmacies will close permanently on Wednesday in an effort to save money, according to Progressive Grocer. Thirty-seven out of its 64 grocery locations currently feature pharmacies. (fooddive.com)

CA: Loblaw's apple sales rise at Shoppers Drug Mart Shoppers Drug Mart, Canada’s biggest pharmacy retailer, has opened stores with fresh food offerings in markets such as Regina, Toronto and Vancouver, and the company is much more bullish about offering up apples and ready-made meals at its highly dense urban locations than in suburban ones. “It’s been performing really, really well in the stores where we have deployed it, specifically in the urban markets in Toronto. We are continuously looking for incremental locations to add to that proposition.” (business.financialpost.com)

Central Grocers files for chapter 11Faced with the prospect of a forced bankruptcy by its creditors, Midwest grocery cooperative Central Grocers Inc. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy production to allow the company to pursue the sale of its Strack & Van Til supermarket chain and other assets. (progressivegrocer.com)

Wal-Mart files patent for Amazon Dash rivalWal-Mart Stores Inc has applied for a patent to compete with Amazon.com Inc's wifi-connected, one-button ordering device, Amazon Dash, according to data provider CB Insights. "Wal-Mart aims to integrate IoT into the products themselves for automatic re-ordering with no user input at all," the blog post said. (Reuters)Why American groceries are in danger - Bloomberg (VIDEO)

Florida debuts Publix's first concept storePublix has officially opened its first ever concept store in Gainesville, Florida. The Publix store will offer conventional items combined with an abundant selection of earth-friendly, all-natural, and organic products for customer convenience. (fox35orlando.com)Denmark: Kiwi supermarkets to be rebranded as Meny and Spar storesDanish retailer Dagrofa earlier this week announced the closure of its Kiwi discount chain, and following that announcement, the retailer has confirmed that around 30 of these stores will be transformed into Meny and Spar outlets. The majority of these Kiwi outlets will be converted into Spar stores, and seven will become Meny outlets. (esmmagazine.com)

Carrefour to grow their own produce A Carrefour store in Seine-et-Marne will be slashing its food miles by selling fruit and vegetables grown by agricultural students in planter boxes on its roof. On its 1,200m2 rooftop Carrefour Market in Villiers-en-Bière installed planter boxes to grow plants, fruits and vegetables. It is intended that the project will expand to other areas around France. (connexionfrance.com)

AmazonFresh launches online supermarket in BerlinAmazonFresh, the internet retailer's online grocery delivery service, has been launched in Berlin, Germany. "We are starting today with AmazonFresh in parts of Berlin and Potsdam," said Florian Baumgartner, head of the online service in Germany, as reported in Der Tagesspiegel. "Customers can complete their entire week's shopping online," he added. "I am sure that we offer good and competitive prices." (esmmagazine.com)

Spar and VolWest to open 50 stores in UkraineSpar International and business conglomerate VolWest Group have announced plans to open 50 Spar stores in Ukraine over the next three years. VolWest Group is a wholesaler, retailer and investment group that operates over 200 Nash Kraj supermarkets across Ukraine with stores in 19 regions. The group plans to open an additional 15 Spar stores by the end of 2017. (esmmagazine.com) AU: Woolworths online sales up by 20%Online sales for Woolworths third quarter were up by 20% in its encouraging third quarter results, although Woolworths and the grocery retail sector could see some repercussion with the confirmed arrival of Amazon‘s fully-fledged services in Australia, including its grocery arm Amazon Fresh. (powerretail.com.au)

Singapore: Sheng Siong poised to open more stores this yearWith four new supermarket openings in addition to the expansion of their Tampines outlet and a reopening of their Loyang store, Sheng Siong is positioned to grow even more in 2017. RHB cites a potential for new store openings in 2017, which would be a key catalyst for further development moving forward, sbr.com.sg writes. (sbr.com.sg)

Aeon looks to open 500 grocery stores in VietnamThe firm is preparing to open more small stores in emerging Asian markets like Cambodia, Myanmar and Vietnam. In particular, it aims to raise the number of its stores in Vietnam by almost nine-fold to 500 by 2025. Although Aeon is known for its large shopping centers, it is easier and cheaper to set up small grocery stores. By opening a large number of stores here in the country, it expects to facilitate its brand recognition. (english.vietnamnet.vn)

Mexican Soriana Q1 sales riseSoriana has announced a Q1 rise in like-for-like sales of 1.7%, a marked slowdown on the +5.3% of the previous quarter. Soriana has experienced the same difficulties as Walmart de Mexico, with the widespread protests over gasoline price increases, leading to looting and the temporary closure of many stores. (igd.com)